Woman accused of extorting pastor after sex act

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - A woman accused of trying to extort money from a local youth pastor will stay in jail. A Hanover County judge denied bond for Tonya Farnsworth, 33, of Henrico County.

Farnsworth is charged with two counts of extortion in a plot to get money from Pastor Chris Phillips. Investigators said she demanded the money in exchange for keeping an alleged sexual encounter between the two a secret.

Senior Commonwealth's Attorney Angela O'Connor said Farnsworth advertised for meeting men on the website backpage.com. According to court documents, Farnsworth tried to extort money from Pastor Phillips who works at a Hanover County church.

The judge denied Farnsworth bond Thursday citing her criminal past. The four-time convicted felon is also facing a probation violation in New Kent, failing to appear in court in Henrico and was just sentenced to a year and two months in jail in Chestefield for a parole violation which she is appealing.